Johnny Depp’s ‘Ebenezer’ Debuts at 51% on Rotten Tomatoes as Critics Call Him Miscast
Johnny Depp’s gothic retelling of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol has landed with a thud on Rotten Tomatoes. Ebenezer, the actor’s first major studio release in eight years, debuted on Thursday with a score of 51 percent, based on roughly 60 reviews, putting it firmly in “rotten” territory one day before it opens in theaters on Friday, November 13.
The score hovered in the low 50s through Thursday afternoon as more reviews were counted, with later tallies reaching 53 to 54 percent. It is the third-lowest score of any Christmas Carol adaptation on the site, above only the 2022 animated Scrooge: A Christmas Carol at 40 percent and the 2001 animated Christmas Carol: The Movie at 13 percent.
Critics are split down the middle
The early verdict is almost perfectly divided. About half of the critics who have weighed in found something to admire, and the other half did not. The first reviews of Ebenezer, published after the review embargo lifted at noon on Thursday, already showed that split, and the full Tomatometer has only confirmed it.
On the positive side, MovieWeb’s Rob Sperduto gave the film four stars out of five, writing that “Ebenezer gives Johnny Depp his best showcase in years and makes a real case for a new Christmas classic, even if the role asks nothing of him he hasn’t done before.” The San Francisco Chronicle was more measured but still kind, saying that “thanks to Dickens and Johnny Depp, and almost nothing else, ‘Ebenezer’ is ever-so-mildly watchable.”
The negative reviews, though, are blunt, and most of them aim at the same target: Depp’s performance as Ebenezer Scrooge. IndieWire’s David Ehrlich gave the film a C+ and wrote that “an unengaging Ebenezer is a tough break for a movie called ‘Ebenezer,'” adding that screenwriter Nathaniel Halpern’s fidelity to the source material “doesn’t exactly leave West with a wealth of opportunities to compensate for such fatal miscasting.” Consequence’s Liz Shannon Miller went further with a D+.
Screen Daily called the film an “uninspiring, unnecessary drama” that puts caricature ahead of character, arguing that Depp draws on the eccentric playbooks of Captain Jack Sparrow, the Mad Hatter and Willy Wonka. The New York Times said the film “toggles mostly between dual modes of the perfunctory and the inoffensive,” calling it a “Christmas Carol iteration that is bland in imagination and supremely straightforward in interpretation.” One critic, Bob Chipman, gave it zero out of 10.
A comeback that critics cannot agree on
Directed by Ti West, the horror filmmaker behind X and Pearl, Ebenezer is a darker, ghost-story version of Dickens’ 1843 novella, following the miserly businessman as three spirits push him to confront his past, present and future on Christmas Eve. Depp stars as Scrooge, with Ian McKellen as Jacob Marley and Rupert Grint as Bob Cratchit. The film runs 116 minutes and is rated PG-13.
For Paramount Pictures, the movie is a major holiday bet. It is Depp’s first big-studio film since 2018, and the studio held reviews under embargo until just hours before Thursday evening previews. Early tracking had suggested an opening weekend of $17 million to $24 million, down from earlier estimates of $25 million to $35 million. The film already opened in South Korea and France on November 11 and in Germany on November 12.
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Why this matters
The divided response matters because Depp’s return to a major studio film has been one of the most watched comebacks in Hollywood. A strong critical reception could have turned Ebenezer into a new Christmas staple; a weak one leaves the film relying on Depp’s name and the holiday season to find its audience. The early audience rating on IMDb, 7.1 out of 10, suggests moviegoers may be kinder than critics, though that number is based on a small early sample and will move as more people see the film.
The score also beat the prediction market’s expectations. Traders on Kalshi had forecast a critics’ score of about 36.8 percent, so the low-50s debut, while still rotten, is better than the market feared.
Latest developments
The Tomatometer is still moving as more reviews are published, and the audience score has not yet filled in. That will change once the film opens in theaters on Friday, November 13, a date the studio has leaned into, timing the gothic take on A Christmas Carol with Friday the 13th. Like Godzilla Minus Zero, another recent genre release that found a warm reception, Ebenezer will now be judged as much by its box office as by its reviews.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Rotten Tomatoes score for Ebenezer?
Ebenezer debuted at 51 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, based on about 60 reviews, and hovered in the low 50s through Thursday afternoon as more reviews were counted.
Is Ebenezer rotten on Rotten Tomatoes?
Yes. A score below 60 percent is classified as “rotten” on Rotten Tomatoes, so the film’s low-50s debut puts it in rotten territory.
When does Ebenezer come out in theaters?
Ebenezer opens in theaters in the United States on Friday, November 13, 2026. It runs 116 minutes and is rated PG-13.
Who directed Ebenezer and who stars in it?
Ti West directed the film from a script by Nathaniel Halpern. Johnny Depp stars as Ebenezer Scrooge, with Ian McKellen as Jacob Marley and Rupert Grint as Bob Cratchit.
Ebenezer opens in theaters on Friday, November 13. Whether audiences embrace Depp’s Scrooge the way some critics did, or agree with the reviewers who found him miscast, will be clear by the end of the opening weekend.
Sources
- MovieWeb — Johnny Depp’s ‘Ebenezer’ Remake Lands “Bah Humbug” Rotten Tomatoes Score — https://movieweb.com/ebenezer-rotten-tomatoes-score/
- ScreenRant — Johnny Depp’s New Fantasy Movie Debuts To All-Time Franchise Record Rotten Tomatoes Score — https://screenrant.com/ebenezer-2026-rotten-tomatoes-score-debut/
- ComingSoon — Johnny Depp’s Ebenezer Reviews Largely Agree Pirates Star Is Miscast as Scrooge — https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/2222051-johnny-depp-ebenezer-reviews-miscast-scrooge
- Showbiz411 — Johnny Depp’s Comeback with “Ebenezer” Gets Scrooge Like Reviewers — https://www.showbiz411.com/2026/11/12/johnny-depps-comeback-with-ebenezer-gets-scrooge-like-reviewers-half-tolerating-it-and-the-other-half-not-in-a-christmas-mood
- Comic Basics — Johnny Depp’s Big Comeback ‘Ebenezer’ Haunts Critics as Rotten Tomatoes Score Is Revealed — https://www.comicbasics.com/johnny-depps-big-comeback-ebenezer-haunts-critics-as-rotten-tomatoes-score-is-revealed/
